I first heard of Yog's Law from author and podcaster Mur Lafferty, and thought it would be good to share an explanation here. Originally from author James D. Macdonald, it states:

“Money flows to the author”

That's it. Very simple and very effective.

Here are 2 examples where this is true

• Traditional Publishing. You get a deal with an agent who sells your book to a publisher. They might pay an advance, but they will pay royalties based on sales. Basically, you do not pay the publisher. They pay you. Here's a great summary of royalties and advances from publishing blogger Moonrat. The amount you get paid is based on sales.

• Self-Publishing using Print-on-Demand. I use POD specifically because there are very few upfront costs (although I do recommend a pro editor). Basically, this is a simple business model. Books are sold and you get income from sales, after the costs of the POD printer/distributor. The amount you get paid is based on sales. (for details on Print-On-Demand, read Ch.8 of this free ebook)

Here are 2 examples where this is not true

• Vanity/Assisted Publishing. Unless you are traditionally published, or you do everything yourself, this is assisted (or could be called Vanity publishing). I don't think this is such a big deal if you have a good business model and can recoup the costs through sales, but it can be crippling financially for the person who just wants to see their book in print. So, please don't pay anything for publishing UNLESS it is part of a solid business plan or you have guaranteed presales that will enable you to make a profit.

• Self-publishing print runs. This is where you do everything yourself but then you pay $thousands for a print run. Again, don't do this unless you have a solid business plan to make a profit from these books. If self-publishing, use Print-on-demand technology and publish for free on Amazon.com (Read Ch. 6 of this free ebook).

I really do want you to see your book out there, but I don't want you to bankrupt yourself or waste money on the way there. Make sure the money is flowing towards you however you publish, even if it is a trickle at first.

This is a guest post from Phyllis Zimbler Miller, author and internet marketer.

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Whether you have a fiction or nonfiction book, there’s a lot more gold in that tome than you may realize.

Let me show you what I mean:

We’ll start with a nonfiction book we’ll call “15 Ways To Start An Online Business”. And we’ll agree that:

• The book has been published (whether from a traditional publisher or self-published doesn’t matter).
• Each of the 15 ways has an individual chapter.
• You have a website for your book.

Now you take those 15 chapters – and you plan and record a one-hour teleseminar around each one. Voila! You now have 15 teleseminars that you can sell off your website. And as easy as this you now have an internet business.

Of course, as your mindset focuses on having an internet business based on your nonfiction book, you’ll begin to see other opportunities. Perhaps there’s an expert in a related area who you would like to interview and then sell that interview. Or perhaps you’d like to offer one-on-one coaching through the internet or telephone.

Once you’ve done all the heavy lifting of creating a good book, don’t stop there. Keep looking for how you can build on that basis.

And what if you have a fiction book? Yes, it isn’t quite as easy as a nonfiction book to use as a basis for an online business, but we’re writers – let’s use our imagination to think of a possible scenario for this endeavor:

Let’s say your novel, like my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT, takes place during the Vietnam War. There are many people alive today who are too young to have any knowledge about this war. What if you wrote ebooks about the war from the point of view of the people in the different countries involved in the fighting?

You could do research and write an ebook about the United States’ role in the Vietnam War and include the U.S. military point of view as well as that of the U.S. war protestors’ point of view. And then you could do research and write an ebook about Australia’s role in the Vietnam War and include the Australians’ opposing viewpoints.

Okay, maybe this isn’t an exciting example. How about – if you’ve written a romance novel – doing research and writing ebooks about dating relationships?

One ebook might be “The 7 Ways You Can Blow a Relationship in Only 10 Minutes.” Would people buy that ebook? I think so. And I also think people might buy a series of teleseminars that you host with different dating experts.

Now does this romance/dating example get your thinking cap fired up? It does mine – if only I could write a good romance novel ….

Step back from being the author of your published book and instead think about how you can develop your book’s “brand” into an online business. You’ll probably be surprised how many good ideas you can come up with.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel www.MrsLieutenant.com and a National Internet Business Examiner at www.InternetBizBlogger.com. She is also the head of www.MillerMosaicLLC.com, an internet marketing company that helps people promote their brand, book or business. On July 1^st the company will launch the Miller Mosaic Internet Marketing Program.